XFX’s new Magnetic Air technology allows the user to remove the graphics card’s onboard fans without tools. Users can now clean fans or replace them simply by pulling them straight off the AIB without removing the card from its tower. The onboard magnets have pin slots where the fans rest. These slots transmit power, the pulse width modulation signals, and include a speed sensor. The new Magnetic Air line will initially include an RX 7900 XTX, RX 7900 GRE, and RX 7800 XT versions. As of publishing, the RX 7900 XTX and the RTX 7800 XT are available on popular online retail sites.
What do we think? This is an intriguing innovation from XFX, as most early adopters and PC enthusiasts love to tinker and upgrade their systems. Magnetic Air technology simplifies this pastime by making it tool-free. As high-end graphics cards become larger and take up more slots, it becomes increasingly difficult to work with the system; any innovation that makes this process easier is welcome. As of today, alternative fans are not available on the XFX site. It will be interesting to see if XFX allows third-party vendors to provide custom fans for the Magnetic Air series going forward. XFX is offering the new series in black and arctic white editions.
XFX brings new technology to its line of RDNA 3.0 graphics cards
XFX is bringing an innovative revamp to high-end AMD GPUs. This week, XFX introduced its Magnetic Air technology line of graphics add-in boards for the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, RX 7900 GRE, and RX 7800 XT. The RX 7900 XTX is AMD’s flagship graphics card, which was introduced in November 2022. It’s a bit unusual to see new editions introduced for a GPU nearly two years old, but the XFX is perhaps testing out its new Magnetic Air technology before next-generation GPUs become available in late 2024 and 2025.
The highlight of the XFX’s new series is its Magnetic Air technology. Magnetic Air technology allows for the end user to remove fans from the add-in board without the use of tools. The three cooling fans on the new add-on boards are kept in place by magnets, so users can reach in and remove the fans simply by pulling them off, like you would a magnet from your refrigerator. Damaged fans can now be easily replaced and or cleaned if need be. We also expect to see customized fans become available for Magnetic Air-based graphics cards in the future. The onboard magnets have pin slots where the fans rest. These slots transmit power, the pulse width modulation signals, and include a speed sensor.
Along with the removable fans, all Magnetic Air series add-in boards will feature Honeywell’s PTM7950 Phase Change Material thermal pad.
| XFX RX 7900 XTX Magnetic Air | RX 7900 XTX | XFX RX 7900 GRE Magnetic Air | RX 7900 GRE | XFX RX 7800 XT Magnetic Air | RX 7800 XT | |
| Architecture | Navi 31 | Navi 31 | Navi 31 | Navi 31 | Navi 32 | Navi 32 |
| Base clock | 1,855 | 1,929 | 1,705 | 1,287 | 1,295 | 1,295 |
| Boost clock | 2,615* | 2,498 | 2,395 | 2,245 | 2,430 | 2,430 |
| Stream Processors | 6,144 | 6,144 | 5,120 | 5,120 | 3,840 | 3,840 |
| Compute Units | 96 | 96 | 80 | 80 | 60 | 60 |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit | 384-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Clock | 20 Gbps | 20 Gbps | 18 Gbps | 18 Gbps | 19.5 Gbps | 19.5 Gbps |
| Memory Size | 24GB | 24GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB | 16GB |
| Memory Bandwidth | 960 GB/sec | 960 GB/sec | 576 GB/sec | 576 GB/sec | 624 GB/sec | 624 GB/sec |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| TDP (W) | 329 | 355 | NA | 260 | 212 | 263 |
| Street Price (June 2024) | $979 | $929 (Newegg) | NA | $529 (Newegg) | $529.99 | $479 (Newegg) |
Specifications of the new Magnetic Air series.
Overall specifications for the new Magnetic Air series graphics cards do not differ all that much from the stock RX 7900 XTX, RX 7900 GRE, and RX 7800 XT. The new XFX Mercury AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Magnetic Air boost clock has a 4.5% increase in MHz over the stock RTX 7900 XTX, while lowering over all TDP by 7%. The RX 7900 GRE version of the Magnetic Air enjoys an increase in boost clock of 6.6% of the stock RX 7900 GRE.
XFX is providing four versions in the Magnetic Air series. The XFX Mercury AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Magnetic Air comes in black, the XFX Qicksilver AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE Magnetic Air in arctic white, and the XFX Qicksilver AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Magnetic Air that comes in both black and arctic white.
The XFX Mercury Magnetic Air Radeon RX 7900 XTX is available on Newegg and Amazon for $979.99, while the XFX Qicksilver AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Magnetic Air is listed at $529.99.
